Thompson Berry settled in this area in the 1840s and devoted most of his time to raising cattle and farming, later becoming the owner of a gin, a gristmill, and several thousand acres in Fayette County. In 1882-1883, the Georgia-Pacific Railroad section connecting Birmingham, Alabama, and Columbus, Mississippi, was built, and arrangements with Mrs. Ben Jefferies and Mrs. Eliza Harvey placed a depot about midway between the two cities. The depot was named Berry for Thompson Berry, the first settler in the area and the father of Mrs. Jefferies and Mrs. Harvey. In November 1883, the town of Berry was incorporated, with its limits set by measuring one mile in all directions from a public well dug a short distance from the depot. Even before the railroad track was completely laid, Ab Seay operated the first store and post office from a boxcar. In 1899, the town held its first municipal election, and Birks Bagwell became the first mayor. Berry Heritage Park was established in 2006 on the site of the old James Wilson Shepherd house, which was built in the 1920s. Berry Heritage Park Drive was built by the Fayette County Commission in 2001 on the right-of-way of the old Georgia-Pacific Railroad, now Norfolk Southern Railway, which was donated to the town in 1999 when rail service ended between Berry and Columbus, Mississippi.